CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the local chapter of MoveOn.org organized Saturday's Occupy Boulder rally. That group instead was invovled with a similar rally Friday.

Hundreds of people with the Occupy Boulder movement marched through downtown Saturday, carrying signs and expressing their frustration with corporate greed and the poor economy.

"Our country is hurting because of the lack of jobs. Students are paying way too much money for tuition," said Theresa Crater, 60, a professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. "The sixties are back. Suddenly something happens and everyone gets it."

Saturday's rally was organized by local Occupy Boulder groups in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, part of the Occupy Wall Street movement that has spread across the nation.

Organizers said about 700 people attended the march; a Camera reporter and photographer estimated about 300 to 500 were present. Boulder police said they didn't bulk up their presence for the march and did not have an estimate.

Protesters gathered around 11 a.m. along Broadway and Canyon Boulevard, before assembling at One Boulder Plaza for a march through the Pearl Street Mall. Most banged on drums, blew noisemakers and clamored loudly as Regional Transportation District buses and vans driving by honked in support.

Some of the marchers chanted anti-big-business slogans and carried signs that read: "Hey DC: If you can't hear us, we'll turn it up!" and "Trick or Treat Wall Street."

Lisa Powers, of Boulder, right, holds up a peace sign while protesting with others on Saturday, Oct. 15, during the "Occupy Boulder" rally near the intersection of Canyon Boulevard and Broadway.
(
Jeremy Papasso
)

"More seniors are feeling the pinch and we're appalled at the lack of quality health care in this country," said Wilma Hahn, 65. "Why should we be so behind (the rest of the world)? It's about being 'awake.' The gap between the notorious 1 percent and the 99 percent of us is growing dangerously wide."

James Hanifin, vice president of marketing for Yellow Cab of America, said he felt compelled to speak out after seeing corporations profit by cutting wages of low-paid workers.

"The American Dream was built on a level playing field and we've lost it. I'm part of corporate America. I've seen it," he said. "When the Civil Rights Movement was going on, equality wasn't just for blacks, or women, or for the disabled. It was for everyone."

Carolyn Bninski, a volunteer with the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, said the decry over financial greed showed a global demand for democracy.

"It's a broad movement that includes many agendas," she added. "All these points are connected. If you want to spend money on health care and education, you've got to cut military spending."

Milt Garrett, 74, drove from Estes Park on Saturday morning over concerns of the rising cost of his health insurance, which has doubled in price since 2002. He said he canceled his plan earlier this week.

"I can't afford it. Now I'm going to have to depend on my kids," said Garrett, whose adult son echoed the sentiment at a rally in Melbourne, Australia.

Overseas, the protests turned violent in Rome, where police fired tear gas and water cannons as protesters turned the demonstration into a riot, smashing shop and bank windows, torching cars and hurling bottles, the Associated Press reported. Dozens were injured.

"There's a lot of energy around the world, everywhere. People are taking back their governments and economies and saying that we need to act in the interest of the vast majority of people, not just the small elite," Bninski said. "Wall Street is a symbol of the rip-off of the American people."

Events in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement are planned over the next week across Colorado.

In Boulder, a rally is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the University Memorial Center Fountain on the University of Colorado campus. A panel discussion with live music is scheduled for immediately after the protest, to be held at 7 p.m. in the Glenn Miller Ballroom.

Another march -- similar in style to the one held Saturday -- will begin at 11 a.m. on Oct. 22 at One Boulder Plaza.

An angry protester, who refused to give her name, screams loudly while pointing at passing cars on Saturday during the Occupy Boulder rally.
(
Jeremy Papasso
)

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